After the disastrous Note 7 fiasco, Samsung has returned with their latest and greatest offering. With record breaking pre-orders, outselling all its "Note" predecessors, it's easy to assume that the Galaxy Note 8 could be the best phablet available in the market.

Meanwhile, the LG V series of smartphones has been underrated for a while now, but unlike the previous models. The latest addition to the series, the LG V30 has been getting some spotlight. Mostly because critics and mobile phone enthusiasts consider the V30 to be the most worthy competitor for the Note 8.

The Design and Body

The Note 8 design language is very similar; it's exactly like the Galaxy S8 in almost all terms. The only few aspects that physical sets the S8 from the Note 8 is the dual camera setup and the slightly receded fingerprint scanner. The body is also the same metal and glass construction.

Meanwhile, the LG V30 takes inspiration from its younger brother, the LG G6. But unlike the G6, the back frame of the V30 is made of glass, which gives it a much more industrialized look. The V30 also has a metal and glass construction. Both devices have an IP69 rating, meaning both devices are water-resistant and dust proof.

The Display

The Galaxy Note 8 has a 6.3 inch 1440 x 2960 resolution SAMOLED curved display.

The phone uses an unconventional 18:9 aspect ratio with a ~83.2% screen-to-body ratio.

The LG V30 has a 6 inch 1440 x 2880 resolution P-OLED display, with a slight curvature. Just like the Note, the V30 also has the 18:9 aspect ratio with an ~81.2% screen-to-body ratio.

Samsung has been producing some of the best mobile displays on the market for a few years now, so it's no surprise that the Note 8 will have a slightly better display, considered to be the best display on the market by DisplayMate.

The Camera's

Both phones carry a dual camera setup but are used for two very different purposes. The Note 8 has 12 MP on both its sensors, the primary is of f1.7 aperture Meanwhile the secondary is a telephoto lens with an aperture of f2.4. The telephoto lens is primarily marketed to be used for portraits and attaining DSLR like background blur.

On the other hand, the LG V30 has a primary 16 MP camera with f1.6 aperture. Meanwhile, the secondary camera is a 13 MP wide angle lens with an aperture of f1.9.

Both phones use different ways to attain better low light photography in low light conditions; the Note 8 has OIS on both its sensors, meaning longer exposure shots can be taken without any blurriness in low light. Meanwhile, the V30 uses a wider aperture and a different camera lens to let more light in for night time photography.

The Differences

The "V" in V30 stands for video, and just like that the v30 offers much more manual customizations for videos than the Note 8. The V30 can shoot video in uncompressed "log" format and provides a variety of filters for videography.

Meanwhile, the Note series is famous for its support of stylus and many other customizations that comes with it. The Note 8 brings more levels of sensitivity for its stylus and also makes the stylus waterproof this time around.

Battery, pricing, and availability

Both devices carry a 3300 mAh non-removable battery. Both phones can easily hit up to 5 hours of screen-on time as per initial reports.

The Note 8 costs around $1000, and is available in 64 and 126 GB options. Meanwhile, the LG V30 costs only $750 and is available in 64 GB model only. Both devices also retain SD card support, meaning the storage can be increased by up to 256 GB extra.

Pre-orders for both the devices have started and are expected to hit all markets by the end of September.